Caries experience and treatment needs among residents of an internally displaced persons camp in Edo State, Nigeria.

Abstract

Background: Internally displaced persons (IDPs). are considered vulnerable as they are at a higher risk of disparity in oral health care and bear a disproportionate burden of oral diseases. Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of dental caries, the treatment needs, and the dental caries severity among internally displaced persons living in a camp. Methods: An analysis of secondary data obtained at an oral health outreach carried out among adults and children residing in an Internally Displaced Persons’ Camp at Uhogua village forest reserve, Edo State, Nigeria as part of the World Oral Health Day by the Edo state branch of Nigeria Dental Association. Data retrieved were age, gender, decayed teeth, missing, and treatment done. The prevalence, severity, and treatment need with regard to dental caries were calculated before and after intervention. IBM SPSS version 26.0 was used for descriptive and inferential analysis at 95% confidence interval with a p-value set at < 0.05 significance. Results: A total of 83 patient records were retrieved with an age range of 3-43 and a mean age of 15.01+ 6.9. with the majority within the age group of 10-20years (65.1%). Male had a slightly higher representation of 43 (51.8%) with a male-female ratio of 1.1:1. Caries prevalence was 33.7% with females having higher prevalence (53.9%). The mean Decayed, Missing, and Filled Teeth (mDMFT) for adults was 0.45, while the mean dmft for children with primary teeth was 0.44. The mean dmft in females (0.55) was statistically significantly higher than that recorded in males (0.27). The treatment need was calculated before and after intervention with the mean treatment need before intervention 32.5+ 5.2 and the mean treatment need after intervention 20.7+ 4.4 showing a slight reduction in treatment need after intervention. Conclusion: The study shows that the IDPs had a dental caries prevalence of 33.7% suggesting that persons living in IDP camps need more attention to dental health services. Recommended strategies to further reduce the dental caries prevalence and experience will be instituting oral health education programs and the creation of dental safety net clinics at the camp which will increase access to preventive oral health services for this group. The IDPs benefited from free oral health care services.